The Workspace Group

What The Workspace Group does

The Workspace Group is a member-owned social enterprise founded in 1985 in Draperstown, Mid Ulster, by 170 local community members in direct response to local economic decline, deprivation, and rising unemployment. The organization operates on a 'profit for purpose' model in which five wholly-owned commercial subsidiaries — Homeseal Energy Savings Ltd (energy efficiency), Network Personnel Ltd (employability/personnel), ThermTech Ltd (technical/thermal services), MYM Recruitment Ltd (recruitment), and Workspace Enterprises Ltd (business incubator units) — generate surpluses that are gifted back to the parent company, Workspace Draperstown Ltd. These surpluses fund the group's social mission activities, which include the Sperrin Foodbank, Workspace Recreation Centre, Workspace After School Club, Workspace Community Hub, Workspace Community Fund, and Workspace Capital Grants Fund.

The group employs 100 staff across nine operational locations — five in Northern Ireland, three in the Republic of Ireland, and one in England — generating approximately £7.6 million in annual turnover with net assets of approximately £9.5 million. Its customer base spans four distinct segments: individuals seeking employment support, homeowners needing energy savings and fuel-poverty assistance, startups and local entrepreneurs using incubator units, and community members accessing recreation, childcare, food assistance, and community-hub services. The board is voluntary and includes representation from Mid Ulster District Council, reflecting the organization's positioning as a community-regeneration institution rather than a venture-backed business.

There is no proprietary technology platform underpinning the group; the offering is delivered through direct, on-the-ground service delivery via physical locations and subsidiary-operated commercial activities. Distribution is primarily word-of-mouth, social media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn), and the group's own website, supplemented by awards-driven credibility — the group was named UK Social Enterprise of the Year 2024 by Social Enterprise UK and NI Social Enterprise of the Year 2024 (over £500k) by Social Enterprise Northern Ireland. Pricing for the commercial services is not publicly disclosed, and the revenue mix blends professional-services revenue from the commercial subsidiaries with recurring rental income from business incubator units.

Name

The Workspace Group

Legal name

The Workspace Group

Website

https://theworkspacegroup.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Workspace Group is a member-owned social enterprise founded in 1985 in Draperstown, Northern Ireland, operating across nine UK and Ireland locations with 100 staff and £7.6 million turnover, delivering employability, energy-efficiency, enterprise-incubation, and community-facility services funded by surpluses from its commercial subsidiaries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Enterprise Community Development Services

NAICS

Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations (8139), Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Community Food Services (624210)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Facilities Support Management Services (8744)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Workplace & Office Support Services (Reception/Mailroom/Porterage/Helpdesk) (IMAIAAAD)

Keywords

• Social enterprise services
• Business incubator units
• Energy efficiency services
• Employability support
• Community development

Headquarters

HQ city

Draperstown

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Commercial Business Surpluses: Commercial businesses (Homeseal Energy Savings Ltd, Network Personnel Ltd, ThermTech Ltd, MYM Recruitment Ltd) generate surpluses which are gifted back to the parent company Workspace Draperstown Ltd to fund social mission activities
2. Business Unit Rental Income: Rental income from business incubator units used to fund free business advice services for local entrepreneurs

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

The Workspace Group operates as a 'profit for purpose' social enterprise providing community development services funded by commercial business surpluses. Commercial subsidiaries (Homeseal Energy Savings, Network Personnel, ThermTech, MYM Recruitment, Workspace Enterprises) generate surpluses that fund community facilities and programs including business incubator units, Sperrin Food Bank, Recreation Centre, After School Club, Community Hub, and grant programs targeting employment support, fuel poverty reduction, entrepreneurship, and energy savings.

Product overview

The Workspace Group operates as a 'profit for purpose' social enterprise with a platform-plus-subsidiaries architecture. The parent company, Workspace Draperstown Ltd, holds the social mission while five commercial subsidiaries (Homeseal Energy Savings Ltd, Network Personnel Ltd, ThermTech Ltd, MYM Recruitment Ltd, and Workspace Enterprises Ltd) generate surpluses that are gifted back to fund community programs. The Group provides business incubator units and enterprise development services alongside community facilities including the Sperrin Food Bank, Workspace Recreation Centre, Workspace After School Club, and Workspace Community Hub, which offer free or subsidised services to the Draperstown community.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Workspace Enterprises Ltd

Quantifiable outcome

• 100 staff employed across 9 locations
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Homeseal Energy Savings LtdcoreOthersCommercial subsidiary providing energy efficiency services, generating surpluses that support the parent social enterprise's community mission. Helps homeowners escape fuel poverty.
• Network Personnel LtdcoreOthersCommercial subsidiary focused on employment and personnel services, helping individuals return to work and supporting the organization's employability mission.
• ThermTech LtdcoreOthersCommercial subsidiary providing technical/thermal services, generating surpluses to support community activities.
• MYM Recruitment LtdcoreOthersCommercial recruitment agency subsidiary that supports job creation and generates surpluses for community benefit.
• Workspace Enterprises LtdcoreOthersRelated entity providing enterprise and business support services within the Workspace Group ecosystem.
• Mid Ulster District CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal government partner represented on the board of directors, supporting community regeneration initiatives.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• The Bread and Butter Thing: The Bread and Butter Thing is a UK community food redistribution social enterprise running hubs that supply affordable food using a surplus-funded model. Comparable to The Workspace Group's Sperrin Food Bank in mission, food poverty focus, and hub-based community delivery.
• Locality: Locality is a UK membership network supporting community-led organisations with enterprise, property, and service delivery. Comparable as both operate member/community-governed structures delivering enterprise units, employability, and community services across multiple local sites.
• Big Issue Group: Big Issue Group is a UK social enterprise tackling unemployment and social exclusion through commercial trading activities (Big Issue magazine, investment, cleaning services) that fund social programmes. Directly comparable to The Workspace Group's model of using commercial subsidiary surpluses to fund employability and community outcomes.
• The Percy Hedley Foundation: Percy Hedley Foundation is a North East England disability charity operating commercial trading subsidiaries (schools, homes, services) that cross-subsidise charitable activities. Comparable parent-plus-trading-subsidiary architecture and community-focused mission delivery model.
• Plunkett Foundation: Plunkett Foundation supports the development of community-owned enterprises (co-ops, community shops, trading subsidiaries) across rural UK and Ireland. Highly comparable as both organisations champion community ownership models and the use of trading surpluses for community benefit in areas of economic decline.
• Calico Group: Calico Group is a Lancashire-based social housing and community services group with wholly-owned commercial subsidiaries (construction, care, property) that generate surpluses for social mission. Highly comparable architecture to The Workspace Group's parent-plus-trading-subsidiaries model.
• Scotmid Co-operative Society: Scotmid is a Scottish consumer co-operative operating convenience retail, post offices, and funeral services, returning surplus to members and community programmes. Comparable as a member-owned, multi-site organisation combining trading activities with community benefit.
• Social adVentures: Social adVentures is a Greater Manchester social enterprise reinvesting profits from commercial activities (recruitment, training, property) into community programmes. Closely matches The Workspace Group's structure of recruitment subsidiaries funding social outcomes in a defined UK region.
• Groundwork UK: Groundwork is a UK federation of community regeneration charities operating through local trusts, delivering environmental improvements, employability programmes, and community enterprise support funded by commercial contracts and grants. Closely matches The Workspace Group's regeneration, environmental, and employability focus across multiple UK regions.

Others

• Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES): CLES is a UK think-and-do tank supporting community wealth building and local economic development. Relevant as an ecosystem/thematic peer addressing the same local economic decline and community enterprise challenges that The Workspace Group tackles in Draperstown.

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TheWorkspaceGro
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheWorkspaceGroup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-workspace-group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Workspace Group